The “Dominator” – Our Star Guide Rider

Each year we invite select guide riders out to help us in the Alps. This year Dom, a promising young rider in Twickenham Cycling Club came out to ride in the Alps as part of his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. This is his story of how the week progressed:

“My first experience of the Alps and cycling abroad is one I will never forget. At first, it all seemed quite daunting, but the welcoming nature of the team and the friendliness from everyone at 45 Degrees North helped me forget my nervousness straight away.

The first night’s dinner was a taste of what was to come. The delicious dinner served by Lewis every night was superb. It was a perfect way to recover after a hard ride. The day’s riding was a perfect mix of stunning views, hard climbs and long descents. Each day you could choose to go with groups of people who wanted to ride hard or take it easy. There was a level for everyone. My confidence in descending grew everyday with the experienced advice from Chris and my understanding of how to pace myself up the climbs improved too. It was a steep learning curve moving from Box Hill to my first alpine climb of “le Col du Petit St Bernard” but with the help of everyone the task wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated.

The highlight of the week has to be the two day trip to Annecy, the route was perfect and the views at the lac de roselend amazing. the routine stop to the boulangerie was a well deserved break during the rides. I thoroughly enjoyed myself throughout the week especially chatting with Serge every morning at the supermarket when getting the baguettes. I would highly recommend the trip to everyone of all abilities as there really is something for everyone to do. The chalet was beautiful and really comfortable with amazing views across the valley.

Mike, Chris, Lewis and Anna – thank you very much for the experience and for the flapjack and see you next year.”